


fools

by ninchannie, tarothan



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Falling In Love, Flirting, Fluff, Minor Character(s), Multi, Neighbors, Nonbinary Lee Minho | Lee Know, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Photography, Polyamory, Shy Yang Jeongin | I.N, minho has long hair, the slightest tiniest hint of angst but it is really barely there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 20:55:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30044622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninchannie/pseuds/ninchannie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tarothan/pseuds/tarothan
Summary: Jeongin has enough on his plate as is, needing to get used to living on his own for the first time as well starting his freshman year of college. He really doesn’t need a crush to distract him from that.Worse even, he doesn’t need two crushes to distract him. Two, as in Seungmin and Minho. Who are together. Together like a couple. Jeongin is in love with a couple.Now, how do you approach two people in a well established relationship? Jeongin is a little lost to say the least.
Relationships: Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know/Yang Jeongin | I.N
Kudos: 48
Collections: AGIBBANG FEST





	fools

**Author's Note:**

> This is our fic for prompt #0023:   
> “Established couple Minho and Seungmin fall head over heels for their new neighbor Jeongin, and try to date him.”
> 
> This is a collab fic and neither of us ever tried that before, so we are excited to see it come to life. Because of the nature of this, the writing styles will jump around a little, which we hope won't be too confusing for you.
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> PSA:   
> \- Minho is nonbinary and uses he/they pronouns

Sweat has long since begun seeping into the fibres of Jeongin’s clothes, his shirt completely sticking to his back as he’s carrying box after box into his new apartment. He doesn’t even have a lot of things, how would he, a soon to be freshman moving away from home for the first time, but the small apartment he found sadly came completely without furniture, so with his graduation gift of money he bought all the IKEA furniture his mom pointed out as  _ hip _ to him, and now has to carry these up too.

Of course, oh so conveniently, his father excused himself after helping with the first few things to get back on the highway before it’s dark out, so Jeongin is now left alone to heave the remaining packs up the stairs.

He’s just lifting up his soon-to-be bed when a breeze chilling down his back alerts him of the door to the building being opened. Awkwardly, he shuffles to the side on the staircase, out of way of his unfortunate neighbour passing through the mess, but the footsteps stop right behind him.

Jeongin feels too exhausted to even lift his head, until-

“You need help with that?”

As soon as the voice reaches his ears, Jeongin’s head snaps up and he nearly drops the box. The tone is nothing but polite, but there’s just  _ something _ to it that pulls Jeongin’s attention in like a magnet. He doesn’t even regret the embarrassing move when his eyes land on possibly the most stunning person Jeongin has ever seen.

They have long, dark hair cascading just to their shoulders in natural, lose waves, held up by a pin in a half-up ponytail in the back. Their skin is delightfully tan, highlighted on the cheekbones and cupids bow with a soft champagne glitter. It also sits in the inner corner of their eyes, making them seem even more catlike, even crinkled up at the corners from the pretty smile on their lips.

“Are you okay?” They ask, snapping Jeongin back to reality and if his heart wasn’t suddenly beating so fast, he would notice the teasing hint to their voice.

Instead, he scrambles to get himself together and heaves the box up into a more secure grip. “ _ I-uh _ , yes.” No, he’s not at all okay, he’s standing in front of a  _ deity _ . “I’m moving in, 3-C. M-my name is Jeongin, I’d give you my hand but... yeah, kind of full...”

“I can see that,” the stranger replies with a soft laugh. “Nice to meet you Jeongin, I’m Minho, I live on the other side of the third floor, 3-H. Let me just-“

As if they can’t bear to see Jeongin struggle any longer, they swoop in and swiftly take the long package from his grasp, heaving it up under their armpit gracefully. Jeongin didn’t know one could carry IKEA boxes  _ gracefully _ .

“ _ Oh _ ! Y-you don’t need to-"

“Ah, it’s nothing,” the stranger –  _ Minho  _ – replies with a wink over their shoulder, already stepping up the stairs. “3-C you said?”

Jeongin barely manages to stammer out a reply before Minho is in full motion, biceps bulging under the thin satin of a blouse Jeongin would be too scared to ever touch in a store. He’s left to breathlessly watch after them, so easily carrying the box while an expensive looking bag is hanging over their other shoulder.

-

how jeongin had ended up here was beyond him. he told himself earlier in the day that he would only stop by the org fair after class if it was on his way home. on his way back home from his last class he learned that it in fact  _ is _ on his way home. so much so that the tents and tables set up across the park are entirely blocking his most familiar route home. so he decides to kill two birds with one stone- he decided he’d walk through the org fair on his normal route home and just stop at whatever booth catches his eye. 

unfortunately, his walk through the fair had turned more into him wandering aimlessly through the clusters of tents and tables, heart pounding. he wills himself to not have an anxiety attack right in the middle of the park, mentally chanting  _ it’s fine im safe it’s fine, _ scanning for a clearing or a hint of road as he tries to walk through the crowd. 

suddenly, there’s a hand on his arm. 

jeongin jumps in surprise, in turn making the man on the end of the arm jump as well. but then he laughs, sparkly eyes crinkling at the corners, nose scrunching. tensions leaves jeongin’s shoulders at the sound, a sweet, shy giggle that exactly matched the pretty tanned man. jeongin’s head is spinning when he hears the man begin to speak. 

“hi there, you alright?” he asks, head tilting to the side.  _ he looks like a puppy _ jeongin quickly shakes the thought from his head. 

“yeah, sorry,” he squeaks out nervously. “i'm a little lost.”

“first time at the org fair?” the other asks it, but it sounds much more like an observation than a question. jeongin nods. “figured, you look like a lost fox.” jeongin has never heard that one before, but decides that he could be called worse things. 

the brunette finally removes his hand from jeongin’s arm, and it takes everything in him not to pout at the loss of contact, but he doesn't know why. 

but then, hes reached his hand out. “i’m seungmin, photography club president.” he introduces, smiling warmly. 

“oh, nice to meet you. im jeongin, im…” he pauses, reaching out to shake the other’s hand. “well i’m a freshman so i’m not really much of anything quite yet.” he smiles sheepishly, a bit embarrassed at his wording. 

“lovely to meet you as well.” seungmin replies. 

the two chat comfortably for a few minutes and jeongin is so thankful. his anxiety is completely gone now, all thanks to seungmin. seungmin takes him around the little booth that he and the photography club e-board have set up for the fair, pointing out which member of e-board took which photos. they were all incredibly talented, hyunjin, yeji, yuna, bomin, and ryujin, but seungmin’s work was by far jeongin’s favorite. 

he tells seungmin so, heart racing as seungmin blushes, preening under the praise. 

“thank you, i’m trying to get more professional gigs once i’m done this year.” he tells the younger. “do you ever do model work?” he asks suddenly, causing jeongin to sputter.

“sorry, sorry!” seungmin squeaks, patting his back. “you’re just really good looking and i thought maybe-”

“no no, it’s okay,” jeongin coughs, cheeks aflame. “i don’t, but i do like to take photos and i would be willing to do model stuff, if the circumstances were right?” jeongin only realizes what he’s saying as hes saying it, so he attempts to ask the last bit, to sound like a suggestion, but looking and feeling entirely unsure of what seungmin would say. 

“oh that’s perfect!” seungmin beams. he pulls a small, glossy flyer off the table next to him and hands it to jeongin. “our meeting next week is all about model work, both as a model and as the photographer. you should drop by, if you have the time.”

jeongin would love to, he really would. but he doesnt have a camera. his chest deflates when he realizes, sad eyes meeting seungmin’s, but seungmin cuts him off before he can even say he can’t make it. 

“it’s alright if you don’t have any equipment, we have plenty for rent from the club, and i can definitely hook you up.” seungmin winks.

jeongin nods again, blushing. “okay, i’ll be there.”

“perfect!” seungmin’s smile is blindingly bright, and jeongin can’t help but return it.

-

Almost a month passes before Jeongin sees Minho again for more than a glance of waving hair and elegant clothes when they just miss each other in the hallway. He has settled in, well more or less, and is slowly getting used to the trot of college, even going as far as joining a photography club next to his classes and the on-campus barista job he scored himself.

He’s just coming home from a meeting with just that club, when he finds a small cat sitting right outside the entrance to the building, eyes wide and ears twitching around almost nervously, their tail however swooshing left and right in obvious interest.

Still, it is painfully obvious the cat is not used to these surroundings, plastered against the wall of the building and meowing loudly as soon as their eyes catch Jeongin. They don’t approach him however, as if leaving the safety of the brick wall is too dangerous to do.

Bending down and greeting the cat like any good person would, Jeongin allows them to sniff his fingers, their nervous body language calming quickly and the cat even goes as far as pressing their grey and white head against his palm, almost begging to be pet. Jeongin can’t help but take a picture of them nuzzling his hand, the cat way too cute to pass the chance.

The animal is basically right next to the door and looking around Jeongin can’t imagine any other building around holding home to such a clearly domesticated cat, so with soft words and even softer fingers, he scoops the cat up into his arms, making sure they are content, before entering the building.

There’s a board in the entry with information from the housing company and notes from the neighbours, but no paper about a missing cat is stuck there. Jeongin stays undeterred though and walks up the staircase, briefly wondering if he should knock on all apartments and ask if someone is missing a cat, or if he should go home first and make a quick note himself.

He just reaches the third floor when an idea strikes him, maybe a slightly desperate one, but better than nothing. He doesn’t walk to the right, into the wing holding his apartment, but to the left, where the doors are more spaced out and the letters get higher, searching for 3-H. Why he remembers so clearly is no ones business.

He finds it rather soon – the cat basically asleep in his arms at this point, purring contently – and knocks without restraint, hoping his nice neighbour Minho who was so friendly to help him move in and didn’t quite leave Jeongin’s mind, will be home.

It takes a few seconds before there’s hectic noise behind the door and then it’s ripped open, just who Jeongin searched for standing in front of him with messy hair, held up in a lose bun by a pencil. Minho has a stack of papers in their hands and looks like they just saw a ghost.

Confusion from seeing Jeongin so surprisingly turns to pure delight when their eyes fall down to the cat in Jeongin’s arms, and they promptly  _ scream _ .

“You found Dori!” Minho’s voice is filled with happiness and – awoken from the noise – the cat allows Jeongin to pass them over to their true owner. “Oh my baby, you must’ve gone adventuring when I was sweeping the floor earlier, my dumb, dumb,  _ brave _ girl.”

Jeongin watches fondly as Minho coddles over Dori, something taking root in his chest and slowly beginning to bloom. He could watch Minho for hours, especially when they appear to glow from smiling so wide.

Jeongin isn’t ready for their eyes to meet his directly and when they do all air is stolen from his lungs.

“Youre a lifesaver,” they say earnestly. “I owe you. If you ever need something I will be there at your call, I will protect you with my life if I have to.”

_Dramatic_ , Jeongin thinks to himself, swallowing the abundance of wetness in his mouth as sweet blossoms fill his heart and chest.

-

The one thing included in Jeongin’s apartment and he didn’t have to buy new – thank the  _ heavens  _ – was a small kitchen with a washing machine included. It’s a blessing, really, even if the water takes a while to come out of the faucet hot and the oven sounds suspiciously loud when used. It’s also a curse, when the washer breaks down only a few weeks into Jeongin living in the apartment.

After thirty minutes of reading manuals and searching for solutions on the internet Jeongin realizes that whatever has decided to stop working is completely out of his range of ever fixing, so a little anxiously he calls his landlord to ask for her.

With a dead inside tone she tells him that he’s the third broken washer of the complex in a month, cursing about warranty and capitalism before telling him about the closest store he can go to that has cheap options and he should just forward her the bill after choosing a – and she stresses this very well – inexpensive option of the cheapest brand the store runs.

It’s as good a solution as Jeongin could’ve gotten in this short a timeframe, but he still feels a little panicked about how in the world he’s supposed to clean his work uniform for the next day. He even got two sets and  _ both _ of them are in dire need of a wash, and Jeongin remembers the scolding his co-worker got when she came into work without her uniform once.

He’s not really close enough to his colleagues or his boss for this to be a reason to text them and ask for a spare change, so for a few minutes he frantically searches the Internet for laundromats before deciding against taking a bus for an hour, and instead trying a more hands-on method.

Literally,  _ hands-on _ .

He’s elbow-deep in his sink, fingers pink and skin wrinkly from rubbing at his uniform in the hot water, only to realize that he now is  _ royally _ fucked. Instead of getting the nasty coffee stain out of the fabric, he only spread it out and the laundry detergent built a small film on the uniform instead of really getting it clean.

With a defeated sigh he drops the clothes into the water and wipes his hands dry only to whisper-scream into his palms for a few seconds, trying to lay out his possibilities.

Unlocking his phone to look at the time, he calms down a little just seeing his background, the picture of Dori nuzzling his hand outside of the building. It came out surprisingly well, so it’s not all that creepy he put it as his lockscreen, right?

Seeing the cat's bright eyes reminds Jeongin of another pair, filled with universes of happiness when they got their cat back. Brows furrowing, Jeongin remembers Minho telling him if he ever needs help, he can come right to them.

It’s a Wednesday afternoon but Jeongin tells himself that if Minho won’t be at work, they would probably be willing to help him out. They were nothing but exceptionally nice to him thus far, and they didn’t seem in any way annoyed at Jeongin at any point, so it  _ should _ be fine.

They can always so no, and even the worst case is Jeongin getting an angry insult thrown at him which he thinks he could bear – though he can’t imagine Minho to ever do something of the like.

Taking a deep breath, Jeongin takes all of his courage together before knocking, waiting a few anxious heartbeats that get interrupted surprisingly quickly by the sound of the disc of the door spy being pushed to the side, Minho probably checking who is knocking on their door unannounced.

They open the door right away, brows raised curiously but smiling wide. “Jeongin? Hi! I did not expect you.” Their voice is nothing but friendly, but Jeongin still feels a bit silly for just stopping by like this.

“Hey, yeah  _ haha _ ,” Jeongin replies sheepishly, laughing awkwardly. “Sorry, I know this is weird, but I need to wash my work uniform and my washer isn’t working, so I decided to take a shot in the dark and ask if I could come do a load? My landlord is going to pay for a replacement but even if I go to the store right now, I doubt I can get it to work in time.”

Minho looks surprised for a second but quickly nods, Jeongin immediately feeling relieved.

“Oh of course, absolutely,” they say. “You can run a load and if you want to we can go to the store together? I’m free all day today and while I’m not necessarily a connoisseur of washers, it’s always good to have a second opinion, right?”

Jeongin feels a little taken aback by the hospitality so it takes a few moments to reply. “You would really do that?”

“Yes, of course!” Minho says excitedly, bending down to pick up a cat Jeongin doesn’t know that curiously approached the opened door. “I’ll just fix my hair and you can grab your laundry and then we can set off? We have an XL washer, so you can do more than just your uniform if you want.”

Jeongin doesn’t think Minho’s hair needs any fixing, but he doesn’t comment on it and simply nods. “Thank you so much, Minho, that is very polite of you.”

“It’s nothing, I promise. Just knock again when you got your laundry.”

Nodding, Jeongin walks over to his apartment, the path feeling infinitely longer than before. He’s going to be in Minho’s apartment to wash his laundry and not only that, Minho will  _ come with him _ to check out the store.

It’s more than Jeongin ever could’ve hoped for and he feels excited as he collects his clothes and hopes he doesn’t look too much like a mess with his shirt still sprinkled with water from his hand-washing attempt and his hair sticking up randomly on his head from tracing his fingers through them out of stress.

Completely opposite of him, Minho’s hair looks stunning. They pulled it back into a loose braid, opening the door to Jeongin with a few bobby pins between their lips to pin away some flyway strands. 

Jeongin nearly drops his laundry basket out of shock - a very positive one, but shock nonetheless - and then nearly stumbles over Dori when he snaps out of it and walks past Minho. The cat softly snuggles his feet the whole time when he shuffles his shoes off and in the moment Jeongin bends down to pet her she presses her head against his hand with full trust.

“She really found a liking in you, huh?” Minho asks after fixing the last bobby pin into their hair, watching them with a smile. “That’s a good sign… I don’t trust people that she doesn’t accept.” 

It’s a stupid thing to make Jeongin’s heart jump, but it does and Dori gently swats his hand back into motion, effectively snapping him out of it. “Y-yeah, I’m glad she likes me… really glad.” The last part comes out whispered.

“Soonie and Doongie are a little more shy, but they’ll open up to you if you come by regularly,” Minho says and Jeongin can’t imagine the underlying invitation in that, right? “They’re sleeping in the bedroom, but you’ll meet them eventually.”

Jeongin scratches behind Dori’s ear and looks up at Minho from his crouching position. Their eyes lock and his heart starts beating erratically, that same feeling blooming in his chest once more.

The blush in his cheeks stays for the whole time Minho shows him how his washer works and when they leave for the store that’s thankfully not too far away. 

On the way, Minho tells Jeongin about their job as a stylist which makes their eyes shine full of excitement and Jeongin definitely stumbles over his own feet because of it, smoothly covering it up… he hopes.

Talking so freely passes time surprisingly quickly and Jeongin doesn’t even feel anxious when entering the store unlike he usually would. Minho by his side calms him so naturally and it’s so easy to talk to them, Jeongin feels lightheaded in the best way.

Minho steers them to the first worker he spots in the giant store, Jeongin nearly losing them for a second but they manage to grab his hand and pull him into the right isle, not letting go of his hand which makes Jeongin more flustered than he’d like to admit.

He barely catches what Minho tells the vendor who’s smiling at them politely, eyes falling to their interlocked hands for a split second which makes Jeongin’s heart  _ jump  _ into his throat. Like a defense mechanism he drops Minho’s hand, his palm feeling cold afterwards and he hopes that maybe Minho will suffer the loss too, just a little.

After chiming in to explain what his landlord to Jeongin on the phone, the worker leads them to the electronics section, making polite smalltalk on the way.

“Are you two by any chance students?” She asks with her nicest customer service voice.

Minho gives Jeongin a look, waiting for him to reply and Jeongin stammers for the right answer for a few seconds, cheeks feeling hot all over again. “ _ Uh _ , yes, I am?” He says awkwardly, the sentence coming out as a question.

“Perfect! We have students discounts for most electronics that should be eligible for the brand you’re looking for too,” the worker exclaims happily. “You’re looking for more inexpensive options, right?”

“Y-yes, please.”

“That’s no problem, don’t worry,” she says, clearly catching on to Jeongin’s nervousness. “It’s always hard to live on your own for the first time, right? But let me tell you, it’s  _ so  _ much easier to do it as a couple, having my girlfriend with me back then helped a lot.” She sends the two a knowing look.

Jeongin’s eyes widen and he glances over at Minho, who looks all too amused by the misunderstanding.

“Oh really?” They ask, completely playing into it and Jeongin has to take a deep breath to calm himself down.

“You two will be fine, believe me,” she promises, now completely focusing on Minho. “You two look great together by the way, but let’s not talk about a cute couple right now, it’s washing machine time.”

Jeongin has to admit he zones out a little as she shows off the different models and explains settings and warranty and things that fly right out of his head as they enter. Minho nudges him every so often with their shoulder, trying to get him back to reality and somehow Jeongin manages to decide on a model (the cheapest one available) and manages to not spontaneously combust when Minho puts an arm over his shoulder when they make their way to the check-out.

“The workers here are a lot of fun, aren’t they?” Minho whispers to Jeongin when she is distracted for a second to look up delivery options for them. 

Taking another deep breath Jeongin takes all his courage together to meet Minho’s eyes that are so incredibly close and filled with pure mischief. “You’re a lot of fun too it seems,” he tries, flirty if it wasn’t for his voice betraying him by trembling.

With an amused giggle Minho drops their arm from around Jeongin’s shoulders and ushers him forward to the register. “What can I say, I’m a comedic  _ legend  _ as they say…”

That manages to relax Jeongin too. “Sure they do,” he teases over his shoulder, before paying for the washing machine and making sure to fold the bill neatly to later send to his landlord.

Once they leave the store, Jeongin’s head clears a little from the fresh air and he can hear Minho sigh deeply as well, stretching their arms out shortly and accidentally bumping against Jeongin in the process, who giggles and shoves back playfully. 

They end up playing around like idiots for most of the way back and it doesn’t feel weird at all, even though Jeongin is only getting to truly know Minho slowly. Sometimes things just click, easy as that and Jeongin could definitely get used to that feeling.

When they reach their building, Jeongin feels a little sad at the thought of returning to his lonely apartment after having so much fun with Minho, and the other seemingly has similar thoughts, stopping when they reach the third floor to check their phone.

“He should be home by now,” they mumble, before directing a hopeful smile at Jeongin. “Your load will take a little longer, do you maybe want to come over and hang out with us?”

Jeongin’s heart jumps in his chest at the offer, so it takes a second for the last word to register. “Us?” He asks, hoping he doesn’t look as much an idiot as he feels. Does Minho mean Soongie, Doongie and Dori?

Minho cocks his head a little. “Me, my cats and my partner?”

_ Oh _ .

Of course. That makes sense. 

Jeongin feels completely foolish for never taking that into consideration when he thought of his puppy crush on Minho. Of course they would have a partner. They’re nice  _ and _ look a vision.

_ Gods _ , Jeongin is stupid.

“ _ Uh _ , yeah okay. I’d love to,” he replies a bit belatedly, his voice deflated but he hopes it’s not too noticeable. “Thank you for offering.”

“It’s really nothing, you can stop thanking me, cutie,” Minho laughs with a wink and sets off into the direction of their apartment. Jeongin knows the term isn’t meant in a flirty way, realizing the whole incident at the store must’ve been a big misinterpretation on his side. He feels  _ bad  _ for playing into it, when Minho has a whole ass partner waiting at home.

Jeongin is embarrassed for having caught such stupid feelings this quickly in the first place. He doesn’t even truly  _ know  _ Minho. There was never a basis for his crush other than attraction. And Minho is still so nice, so why would Jeongin even feel bad about them having a partner. He can call himself lucky that a good acquaintance or even a friendship could fester between them.

Still, Jeongin’s heart twinges painfully when he follows them and thinks of intruding on a couple’s Wednesday evening like this, unannounced and unwanted.

When Minho unlocks the door and steps inside, they yell a questioning greeting into the apartment which is left unanswered and they shrug before fiddling their shoes off. “He’s probably in the shower, had a long day, but-  _ oh look who’s here _ …”

Bending down, Minho picks up an orange cat who was napping on the sofa, but they let themselves be taken up easily and with no fight, albeit eyeing Jeongin a little suspiciously. 

“This is Soonie, my oldest friend,  _ say hi to Jeongin baby _ …” Minho’s cat-voice is adorably high and Jeongin feels his heart clench at the sight, so soft and domestic it makes him feel like a complete idiot all over again.

Slowly, he approaches Minho and stretches his hand out for the cat to sniff. “Hi pretty, aren’t you just the cutest?” He coos and tries not to blush under Minho’s intense gaze on him, the other so  _ close  _ it makes something as innocent as petting a cat almost feel intimate.

“Dori will not be happy to hear that,” they joke and their voice is weirdly breathless, it makes Jeongin’s skin prickle.

“I,  _ uh _ , my load should be done by now, right?” He asks to escape the situation and Minho almost looks… disappointed? No that can’t be.

“You’re right,” they say, putting Soonie back down on the couch before walking into the direction of the tiny utility room homing the washer and dryer. “You can use our dryer too if you want to… to make sure you won’t have to go to work with a wet uniform tomorrow.”

Jeongin really should say no. Minho did enough for him as is, and instead of being a good neighbour and decent person, Jeongin  _ flirted  _ with them when they have a partner. He  _ should  _ say no, but Minho almost looks deflated, like they don’t want Jeongin to leave yet. And they offered to hang out after all…

“That would be great,” he says and follows Minho, letting them explain the right settings. 

Jeongin can hear a door being opened somewhere in the apartment and Minho perks up at it, excusing themselves with a bright smile and leaving Jeongin to take his laundry from the washer and stuff it into the dryer. 

In the background Jeongin can hear the unmistakable sound of someone brushing their teeth, but he can’t understand a lot of the conversation that commences, only picking up a ‘ _ hey puppy _ ’ from Minho after which Jeongin forces himself to put all of his concentration into his task, not quite ready to learn that Minho uses nicknames like  _ puppy  _ for their partner.

Sadly, he doesn’t have endless clothes to reload, so he ultimately has to snap himself out of his unnecessarily disappointed headspace. Minho has a partner and that’s it. Can Jeongin’s stupid heart now finally accept that and stop aching?

The muffled sound of a conversation is audible from the living area when Jeongin starts the dryer and walks out and his fingers feel cold and lonely, reminding him of how different the feeling was earlier when his hand was grasped by Minho’s.

Swallowing the unwelcome thought, he takes a deep breath and steps into the room, a tiny bit awkwardly shuffling over to the couch where he can see someone sit with their back turned to him, Soonie curled up against their side and a cat Jeongin doesn’t know resting next to them on the arm of the couch.

Minho is situated on the floor, using a feather toy to play with Dori, completely immersed in the task. 

It’s their partner who notices the presence first, head turning to Jeongin’s direction and-

“Jeongin?” He gasps, the sudden noise surprising Soonie and making her stand up, stretch and jump off of the couch, tail swishing in irritation.

“S-Seungmin?” Jeongin replies, equally shocked and his cheeks are  _ burning _ . 

He can’t believe it. What are the chances of the two people he found himself crushing on ever since starting college being in a relationship. Seungmin and Minho.  _ In a relationship _ . Jeongin feels like fate is playing a game with him that he doesn’t nearly find as funny as fate does.

Minho looks at them in confusion from the floor, the toy discarded next to him with Dori smacking it in fervour still. “You two know each other?” They ask, intrigued.

“Yeah, Jeongin joined the photo club recently,” Seungmin replies, sending Minho a look that Jeongin can’t quite read. Just to make matters worse, he adds, “He’s  _ really  _ talented,” before looking back at him. “And we could’ve met up all this time, I didn’t know you lived in the same building!”

“Me n-neither,” Jeongin stammers. “A small world, isn’t it?” His laugh sounds nothing but panicked, but he can’t stop it from spilling over his lips.

Pushing themselves off the ground, Minho evades a swat at their feet from Dori. “I  _ love  _ coincidences like this,” they say. “Do you want some coffee? I’ll run us a cup and we can talk some?”

Jeongin doesn’t think he should be allowed anywhere near caffeine after three in the afternoon, but he nods anyway and watches as Minho slides into the open kitchen on socked feet, grabbing some cups from the cupboards.

“Come, come, sit,” Seungmin offers, snapping Jeongin away from staring at his neighbour. “Fair warning, there’s cat hair  _ everywhere _ , but you already found out we have a washer in case that’s a problem.”

“It’s no problem,” Jeongin assures when sits down on the other edge of the couch, eyes on Seungmin who’s watching him with just as much surprise still, his long fingers grazing through the third cat’s fur. “Who is that?”

“Oh you haven’t met Doongie?” Seungmin grabs the cat’s paw and gently waves it up and down in Jeongin’s direction, making her tail swish in annoyance. “She’s a brat but that only makes it so much more fun to tease her.”

“You should see his forearms sometimes,” Minho chimes from the kitchen with an evil laugh. “He whines for days about how  _ mean  _ Doongie is and how much it  _ stings  _ but still does it again and again…  _ idiot _ …” The last bit comes quiet and in Korean, soft and fond and it makes Jeongin feel even more flushed than he already is.

Seungmin’s next words only make it  _ worse _ . “You like me with scratches though… you always tell me I look good with my back all-”

A clatter from the kitchen interrupts him, followed by a curse from Minho. “This  _ fucking Keurig _ , supposed to make my life easier but it never works right…”

Looking over his shoulder, Jeongin catches sight of smoke coming out of a part of the coffee maker that should  _ not  _ smoke, and the lid only half on. “Do you need h-” he starts, but Seungmin is on his feet before he can finish.

He comes up behind Minho, arms wrapping around them to aid in fumbling with the machine. It makes Jeongin’s heart clench and his throat feel tight, butterflies exploding in his stomach like never before while at the same time feeling pain in his chest. 

“Why is it not  _ working _ ,” Seungmin mumbles with a pout, punching randomly at the buttons while Minho just sighs and stops altogether, relaxing against their boyfriend.

Jeongin’s fingers are shaking when he stands up and walks over, keeping his safe distance but still reaching across, reaching into their space, to put the lid down fully. “Y-you need to close the lid or it won’t let you cook the coffee…”

Two pairs of eyes fall on him, wide and as if he just told them all the secrets of the universe and not just how a coffee machine works. Jeongin retracts his arm and looks down, hoping his heart isn’t pounding loud enough for them to hear.

-

When Jeongin bought the washer at the store, the worker could only give him a loose time frame for the delivery window, so when his doorbell rings on a Monday at 10am, right at the  _ beginning  _ of the estimated time frame, he’s a little shocked and a lot unprepared to say the least.

The delivery guy - bless his soul - heaves the machine out of the loader and helps Jeongin carry it up but that’s as far as he goes, repeatedly apologizing to Jeongin that that’s not part of his job and he has thirty-three other things to deliver before the end of the day. Jeongin never heard of a delivery guy  _ apologizing _ , so he thanks him intensely before realizing he is now stranded with a  _ very  _ heavy washing machine.

He manages to get it into the hallway on his own, before nearly breaking down at the bottom of the stairs and only barely making it back up to the third floor, losing half a lung on the way and even more will to live.

Maybe it was just said in vain, but Jeongin remembers Minho telling him to come to him for help if he so needs it on the delivery day, so Jeongin breathlessly makes his way over to theirs and Seungmin’s apartment instead of his own. 

Even if Minho won’t want to help him carry the heaviest object in the universe (which surprisingly isn’t their otherworldly beauty), they will almost certainly offer a coffee. Jeongin knows, because Seungmin and Minho told him he can come by for some whenever, which he declined in the way his mother taught him, and the two didn’t accept like his aunts never did.

It only takes a few seconds after knocking for Minho to open the door. Their hair is pulled up in a high ponytail and they are wearing a cropped, sleeveless hoodie and tight leggings that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination and make Jeongin’s cheeks feel hot before he quickly averts his gaze.

“ _ Oh _ , hi Jeongin! Nice to see you,” Minho greets and they sound so  _ excited  _ to see him, it makes Jeongin’s stomach fill with butterflies.

“Hey Jeongin!” Seungmin yells from behind Minho and they step to the side to look inside, finding two yoga mats splayed out in the middle of the room, Seungmin holding himself up in a downwards dog position on one of them, which totally doesn’t make Jeongin’s stomach feel even funnier.

“Hey lads,” Jeongin greets back, cringing at himself for the strange nickname he chose. “I’m sorry if I interrupted you.”

Minho waves him off. “Don’t worry, we’re just trying to loosen this guy up a little.” They point back at Seungmin. “So we try and do some yoga everyday. Do you maybe want to join?”

“Oh, uh, maybe? Sometime? I’ve never tried yoga before,” Jeongin replies, mind going to evil places just thinking about working out with the two of them. “I actually came here for a favour, but please tell me if it’s too much.”

“I bet it isn't, what’s up?”

“The new washer was just delivered and there’s absolutely no way I can get it up the stairs alone, so I was wondering…” He lets the sentence trail off.

Minho smirks. “Oh, need your big, strong enby partner to help you out?” They say with a wink and Jeongin almost chokes on his spit. “I bet that worker from the store imagined us carrying it into our new shared apartment together.”

Right. That worker. Jeongin didn’t just nearly have a heart attack or anything because of Minho’s joke. Absolutely not. With his brain absolutely friend, Jeongin opens and closes his mouth for a few times, not getting anything out, but thankfully Seungmin saves him.

“You two have fun carrying a 200 pound washer up the stairs, I’ll be here  _ stretching _ ,” he says and Jeongin watches as he falls to his stomach with a thud, picking his phone up from the floor.

Fondly rolling their eyes, Minho shakes their head. “Sure you will, pup,” they say over their shoulder, shuffling on some shoes. “Let’s go?”

Jeongin follows them as they determinedly skip down the stairs, absolutely not looking at their legs or their ass. He’s not a creep after all, he wouldn’t do that…

He feels completely deflated just seeing the washer again, but Minho looks almost hyped to get their hands on it, ready to spontaneously do a whole arm workout it seems. They decide for Minho to be the one to walk behind Jeongin and in case he needs a break holding most of the weight of the washer, which they don’t seem to find all that heavy. Apparently they stem more at the gym, which again takes Jeongin’s brain to dark places.

For the first few steps they take with the clunky appliance, Jeongin has enough power left to notice how Minho’s muscles bulge in their arms and he briefly wonders if Seungmin ever gets hot and bothered just looking at them, because Jeongin sure would if he was Minho's partner.

But only two steps more and his mind is overtaken with pure pain and exhaustion. He’s not even weak, he works out too for heaven's sake, but he’s nowhere near Minho’s level of strength, so every landing they reach they take a break where Minho proudly leans against the railing and Jeongin nearly collapses over the washer.

By some wondrous power they make it all the way up to the third floor, certainly mostly because of Minho, and Jeongin promises to do anything for them in exchange for helping him  _ again _ .

What he doesn’t know is that as soon as Minho closed the door of the apartment, Seungmin snuck up and peeked through the peephole, waiting until he could catch a glimpse of the two when they fought their way up the last steps, before disappearing into the other direction for Jeongin’s apartment.

He sneaks out quietly - maybe a little creepily, but Seungmin couldn’t care less - until he can hear panting and mumbling. He leans against the wall to wait for Minho, a smug smile on his lips as he waits for Jeongin to stop thanking them.

“I really, truly owe you,” he says at last and Seungmin fondly shakes his head. Jeongin is too adorable for his own good. “Where would I be without my big, strong enby, right?”

Seungmin’s brows shoot up and he makes a mental note to ask Minho about that inside joke later on, but then he hears the two bid each other goodbye and a door close and Minho comes walking around the corner, in all their sweaty glory and Seungmin nearly forgets about it.

“Big, strong enby, huh?” He asks when Minho notices him and puts a sweaty arm around his waist. “When will you carry a washing machine up three stories for me then?”

With a chuckle, Seungmin is suddenly lifted into the air and thrown over Minho’s shoulder. They smack his ass playfully a few times, making him squeal. “How about I carry you somwhere else first?” They ask as the step into the apartment.

“Bedroom?” Seungmin asks hopefully.

Minho nods. “Bedroom. But only when we’re done with yoga.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave kudos and comments if you want to :3


End file.
